The Article below was published in Vol. 135, Issue 2 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on October 18, 2019
By Jovana Jovanovska ’23
Staff Writer
Lake Forest College’s Student Government Senate Election results for 2019-2020 were announced on Friday, September 27 via a campus-wide email.
Addressing the fact that, compared to last year, this year’s elections had fewer students running for available positions, Zachary Jenkins ‘20, Student Government president, stated that “there are two large factors that Student Government has to overcome every year when encouraging students to run: other commitments and the fear of losing an election.” Jenkins acknowledged that committing to Student Government is difficult and that “not everyone who can or would be a good senator wants to compete in what is sometimes a popularity contest.” However, Jenkins also mentioned that the students who “do take on the commitment are usually some of the campus’ most involved leaders” and noted that he hopes the newly-elected senators “actively try to better this campus we all call home, and . . . d[o]their absolute best to represent their constituents’ to the Senate as a whole.”
The new senators are from diverse backgrounds and have different interests, but all of them have one thing in common: they are all passionate about making a better Lake Forest College community. The newly-elected representatives decided to run for positions because they enjoy advocating for others, want to have meaningful contributions on campus, and are passionate about change and being the voice of students.
Representing the Class of 2020 are Senators Christine Hanna and Brent Brewer. While Brewer did not return our request for a comment, Hanna, a business major with a marketing concentration and an entrepreneurship and social justice minor from Wheeling, Illinois, shared that she would like to “implement…all-gender bathrooms and healthy vending machines, as well as a free food pantry for all students.” A fun fact about Hanna is that she “can do cartoon and celebrity singing impressions.”
Juniors Paul Nehring and Jay Ispas were elected to represent the Class of 2021, but as of press time, they did not return our request for comment.
Senators representing the Class of 2022 are Emma Overton and Eddie Crummey. Overton is from Kankakee, Illinois, and is a double-major in environmental studies and politics with a minor in legal studies. She noted that she “hopes to be able to represent all members of the Class of 2022 and to ensure everyone feels that their voice is heard.” Overton also shared that she “loves to travel and hopes to study abroad soon.”
Crummey is an international relations major and a legal studies minor from Studio City, California. In addition to being reelected as a Class Senator, he is the City of Lake Forest Liaison for Lake Forest College. In his City Liaison position, Crummey said he “gets to go to [the]City [of Lake Forest]meetings as a school representative and reports what happened back and how it will affect the student body.”
Representing the Class of 2023 are Senators Pratistha Shrestha, Jhanati Rajesh, and Ajit Sharma. While Shrestha and Rajesh did not return our request for comments, Senator Sharma, an international student from Kathmandu, Nepal, shared that he “hopes to ensure that everybody on campus feels like Lake Forest College is their home away from home.”
In addition to electing Senators to represent their classes, Lake Forest College students also chose Senators to represent their residence halls, as well as the Commuter Student population. Residents elected Colin Russell ‘22 as Deerpath Hall Senator, Karla Perez ‘23 as Harlan Hall Senator, Hasib Sadat ‘21 as Moore Hall Senator, Naima Hernandez ‘21 as Cleveland Young Senator, and October Heffner ‘23 as Lois Hall Senator. As of press time, residence hall Senator positions for Nollen, Gregory, McClure, Roberts, Blackstone Halls were unfilled.
While Russell and Perez did not return our request for comment, Naima Hernandez, a neuroscience major from Gurnee, Illinois, who represents the Cleveland Young residence hall, noted that she wants to “[address]the concerns of the residents of Cleveland Young and improve their personal and community experience.” In addition to serving on Student Government, she is also a robotics instructor for RoboThink where she teaches 6 to 12-year-olds the fundamentals of robotics and coding.
October Heffner ‘23 was elected as a Residence Hall Senator for Lois Hall and stated that she “hope[s]to help make student life the best it can be and get to know my community better.” Heffner is a communication major and digital media design minor from Woodstock, Illinois.
As of press time, Commuter Senators Diayan Rajamohan ‘21 and Anish Abeysiriwardena ‘23 and College Council representatives Jared Applegate ‘20 and Paul Nehring ‘21 did not return our request for comment. Additionally, as of press time, the Campus Sustainability Committee had the one available position unfilled and the College Life Committee had three available positions unfilled.
Sharing his goals for the new Senate, Advisor to Student Government Aldo Guzman stated that “the newly-elected Senators should lead with integrity and compassion. They should get to know their constituents and be actively engaged with students.”
Jovana Jovanovska can be reached at jovanovskaj@mx.lakeforest.edu.
